How to Plan the Perfect Custom Entertainment Unit for Your Lounge Room
The living room is where life happens. It is where the family piles onto the couch on a Friday night, where friends gather for the big game, and where you unwind after a long day. Given how central it is, the entertainment wall deserves genuine thought — not a rushed trip to buy whatever flat-pack unit happens to fit through the door.
Getting it right involves more than picking a nice-looking cabinet. Size, placement, cable management, and lighting all play a part in creating a space that feels calm, considered, and genuinely enjoyable to use. In this guide, we walk you through everything you need to plan beautiful, functional custom entertainment units for your Melbourne home.
How to Choose the Right Size Entertainment Unit for Your Lounge
Size is where most people go wrong. A unit that is too small looks lost against a big wall, while one that is too large dominates the room and feels overwhelming.
The goal is balance.
Start with Your TV
A good rule of thumb is that your entertainment unit should be wider than your television — ideally by a decent margin on each side. Many designers suggest the unit sits around 20 to 30 centimetres wider than the screen on both sides. This gives the TV visual breathing room and stops the whole arrangement looking top-heavy.
So if you have a 165cm (65-inch) TV, an entertainment unit somewhere around 200cm wide or more will look far more balanced than a narrow cabinet the same width as the screen.
Factor in Your Room Dimensions
Your walls set the boundaries. Measure the length of the wall where the unit will sit, then consider how much of it you want to fill. In a large open-plan living space, a generous wall-to-wall design creates a striking focal point. In a smaller room, you may want to leave breathing space either side to avoid a cramped feel.
Ceiling height matters too. Higher ceilings can carry taller cabinetry and shelving, while lower ceilings usually suit longer, lower-profile designs.
Consider Viewing Distance
Comfort comes down to how far you sit from the screen. As a general guide, your seating should be roughly 1.5 to 2.5 times the diagonal size of your TV away from it. A 65-inch screen sits comfortably viewed from around two and a half to four metres. Knowing your viewing distance helps confirm whether your current TV suits the room — and shapes how the unit should be proportioned beneath it.
Get the Proportions Right
Beyond width, think about depth and height. A unit that is too deep eats into floor space and can feel bulky. One that is too shallow may not house your equipment properly. We design every piece around your actual gear and your room, so the proportions feel just right.
Built-In vs Freestanding Custom Entertainment Units
One of the first big decisions is whether to go built-in or freestanding. Both have real merits, and the right choice depends on your home, your plans, and the look you are after.
Freestanding Entertainment Units
A freestanding unit sits as a standalone piece of furniture. Its biggest advantage is flexibility — you can move it, reposition it, or take it with you if you relocate. If you rent, plan to move, or simply like being able to rearrange your space, freestanding is a smart choice.
The trade-off is that freestanding pieces do not integrate as seamlessly with the room. There may be gaps behind or beside the unit, and they rarely make full use of alcoves or awkward wall spaces.
Built-In Entertainment Units
A built-in unit is designed to fit your space precisely, wall to wall and floor to ceiling if you like. This delivers a seamless, tailored look that feels like part of the architecture. Built-ins make brilliant use of tricky spaces such as alcoves and chimney breasts, and they maximise storage without wasting a centimetre.
The main consideration is permanence. A built-in is a fixture, so it stays with the home. For homeowners settled in their forever home, that is exactly the appeal.
TV Wall Planning: Get the Placement Right
Even the most beautiful entertainment units for TV can be let down by poor TV positioning. A screen mounted too high leaves you craning your neck all evening, which is uncomfortable and quickly becomes tiring.
Aim for Eye Level When Seated
The golden rule is simple: the centre of your screen should sit at roughly eye level when you are seated on the couch. For most people, that means the centre of the TV lands somewhere around 100 to 120 centimetres from the floor.
It helps to actually sit on your sofa and note where your natural line of sight falls. That is where the middle of the screen wants to be. Your unit design directly affects this — the height of the cabinet or the mounting point on a floating unit determines whether your TV ends up at the perfect level or slightly off.
Mind Your Viewing Angles
Think about where people sit and whether anyone views the screen from an angle. Ideally, the TV faces the main seating square-on. If your lounge has seating spread across a wide area, we can plan the wall so the screen remains comfortable to watch from every spot.
Let the Unit Shape the Placement
This is where custom really shines. Rather than mounting the TV first and squeezing furniture around it, we design the unit and TV placement together as a single, considered composition. The result looks intentional and balanced, because every element is planned to work in harmony.
Cable Management: Say Goodbye to the Tangle
Nothing undermines a beautiful entertainment wall faster than a nest of cables spilling out the back. Thoughtful cable management is one of the biggest advantages of going custom.
Hide the Cords
We build in discreet cable access points and routing channels that carry every cord neatly out of sight. Power leads, HDMI cables, and speaker wires all disappear into the cabinetry, so all you see is a clean, uncluttered wall.
Dedicated Equipment Zones
Streaming boxes, game consoles, sound systems, and set-top boxes each get a purpose-built home within the unit. Everything sits in its proper place, easy to reach yet tidily concealed. No more stacking devices precariously on top of one another.
Proper Ventilation
Electronics generate heat, and heat is the enemy of longevity. We design in effective ventilation — using mesh screens matched to your panels, hidden ventilation slots, or flip-up doors — so your equipment stays cool and runs smoothly for years. Remotes can still operate through mesh or glass panels, so concealment never means inconvenience.
The same attention to hidden, hardworking detail is what we bring to every project, from our built-in wardrobes to our custom laundry cabinets.
Lighting: The Finishing Touch That Transforms Everything
Lighting is the detail people most often overlook, yet it makes an enormous difference. The right lighting turns a functional cabinet into a genuine feature wall.
Integrated LED Strip Lighting
Discreet LED strips tucked beneath shelves, along the back of open display sections, or around the perimeter of the unit create a soft, ambient glow. This warm backlighting reduces the harsh contrast between a bright screen and a dark wall, making evening viewing far more comfortable on the eyes.
Downlights Within Cabinetry
For units with display shelving or glass-fronted sections, small integrated downlights beautifully highlight your favourite books, ornaments, and treasured pieces. It is the same trick galleries use — considered lighting draws the eye and adds a real sense of occasion.
Set the Mood
The best part is control. Dimmable lighting lets you set a bright, practical scene for everyday use or a soft, cinematic glow for movie night. Layered lighting adds depth, warmth, and a touch of luxury that elevates the entire room.
Ready to Design Your Perfect Entertainment Wall?
A well-planned entertainment unit does so much more than hold your television. When size, placement, cable management, and lighting all come together, you get a living space that feels effortless, elegant, and genuinely yours.
At Robes Collective, we design and craft custom entertainment units for homes right across Melbourne, tailored to your room, your equipment, and your style. From the first measurement to the final install, we handle every detail so you can simply look forward to the result.
If you are ready to transform your lounge into a space you will love, we would love to help. Get in touch with the Robes Collective team today to book your free in-home design consultation.
Phone +61 456 587 481
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